Hartford school district responds to NAACP letter on proposed school closures

The Greater Hartford NAACP says a proposals to close some schools in the city of Hartford would violate rights of students.

President of the Greater Hartford NAACP Imam Abdul-Shahid Muhammad Ansari said the city’s Board of Education is proposing school closures primarily in the north-end of Hartford, “which is predominately compromised of low-income African American and Latino neighborhoods.”

The NAACP says the proposal will violate title IV and VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and said it “constitutes negative treatment and would have an unjustified disparate impact on African-American and Latino students.”

In a letter, Hartford Public Schools replied, saying "What was presented to the Equity 2020 advisory committee are NOT the 'Hartford Board of Education’s proposed closures.' They were a consultant’s recommendations to a committee convened by the Superintendent to inform her work, which would ultimately include making recommendations to the Board for their consideration and action."

The district said none of the proposals are on the school board's agenda for action, and none of them may ever be on the board's agenda.

"I think I speak for every member of the Board when I say there are things in each proposal with which some or all of us agree, things with which some or all of us disagree, and(many) things about which we have (many) questions. As such, if one of those proposals does make it onto our Agenda, it will most likely be with significant modifications both as to timing and substance. Thus, NOTHING has been decided and NOTHING is going to be decided until the Board is ready to act," the letter said.